Gamification Part I: What Motivates You Every Day?

What motivates you to do better every day? Why do you show up to the office on time? How do you decide between a session at the gym or your favorite Netflix series? Let’s dive down a mini rabbit hole to explore the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and why it matters.

Intrinsic rewards can be thought of as motivation from within. Think of pride, accomplishment, and purpose. Intrinsic rewards are often thought to be more effective in the long run because they align with internal values and fulfillment. Imagine the concierge manager who shares all of his local tips with guests like they are old friends. There is a strong emotional connection in the work they do, which makes delivering personalized service a pleasure rather than a job.

Extrinsic rewards, on the other hand, come from outside of an individual and are often tangible and measurable. Gift cards, perks, and public recognition are all “external” fuel for driving behavior change. While these types of rewards are proven to help people start new habits, if we rely only on “carrot and the stick” to drive motivation, we may create dependencies and, over time, diminish returns.

Introducing Atiom Gamification To Drive Motivation

At Atiom, we use a healthy combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in our gamification system. Different from other “employee experience” platforms, this delicate combination helps create the habit for teams to show up and do their best work every day.

How Atiom motivates from within…

• Sense of Mastery: Employees can complete daily quests, quizzes and training modules on their own time, building confidence in their abilities.
• Progress Tracking: Visual progress bars gives users a clear sense of improvement, tapping into the human desire for growth and achievement.
• Purpose: Employees can connect their training with real-world improvements in service quality, allowing employees to see their contributions to company-wide goals.

And now for the carrots…

• Rewards: Employees can earn points and badges for hitting milestones, which can be converted into tangible gift cards, perks and even paid time off.
• Friendly competition: Team and individual leaderboards motivate employees to perform better and climb the rankings.
• Social Recognition: Peer-to-peer recognition allows employees to publicly celebrate each other’s accomplishments and performance.

Ready to give your teams a tool they will love?

At Atiom, we are on a mission to help leaders and teams build habits and transform performance. If you’d like to learn more about how we drive service excellence or boost loyalty enrollments through gamification, feel free to reach out anytime at hello@atiom.app.